FOXBORO — A packed crowd filling the metal bleachers bordering the west side of the Patriots’ practice fields erupted after Drake Maye’s first official completion of training camp went to Stefon Diggs on a short crossing route in 11-on-11 drills.
If all goes as planned for the Patriots, that’s a promising premonition for the 2025 season: Maye under center, regularly connecting with a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver and a fanbase back to being fully engaged.
It wasn’t the first time Maye completed a pass to Diggs, who’s fully recovered eight months after tearing his ACL four days before Halloween, this summer. The second-year pro QB organized a throwing session in his hometown of Charlotte, N.C., earlier this month to get on the same page and form a connection with his offensive skill-position players.
“He did, I would say, 95% of it on his own,” head coach Mike Vrabel said Wednesday. “To be able to plan the travel, the housing, the location, and everything that they were going to do and the places that they were going to do it. So, I think that that’s a large step not to deal with other things in the off-season, in the summer. Getting married and everything like that. So, it was important to him. I think that was something that he wanted to do. It was something that he approached me with early on. Something that he was thinking about.”
It’s an important step in establishing himself as a leader on a team whose 91-man roster is filled with 44 new players. As a rookie, it was more difficult for Maye to take on a leadership role in 2024, especially with Jacoby Brissett, a captain, blocking his role as a starter to begin last season.
For Maye, gathering Patriots offensive skill-position players, including Diggs, running back Rhamondre Stevenson, tight end Hunter Henry, quarterback Joshua Dobbs, and wide receivers Kyle Williams, Ja’Lynn Polk, DeMario Douglas and Kendrick Bourne, wasn’t just about connecting on the field.
“I think it’s something that you miss those guys for a month,” Maye said. “You just want to get back, get a refresher from them, whether it’s route-wise, play-wise. I think the most important thing is just bonding together. I think getting the guys together, going out to eat, having some fun, getting some work in. I think it was … glad that those guys came out and showed up.”
Douglas’ highlights of the trip were throwing and bonding.
“We had a hoop in the garage, and we was in there hooping,” Douglas said. “We played SpikeBall. I feel like stuff like that got us closer. We did extra activities — the boat; we were all together on the boat.”
It’s too early to tell how valuable the trip to Charlotte will be for Maye, but he got out to a good start in Wednesday’s practice, going 8-of-9 in 11-on-11 drills with returning offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels calling plays.
He narrowly avoided a turnover when safety Jabrill Peppers dropped an interception on a target to Douglas, but overall, Maye uncorked the ball with his best stretch kicking off his third 11-on-11 session with downfield completions to Henry and Williams.
“I think we moved the ball well. I threw one ball, which I’d like to have back, but they played a good coverage for what we had,” Maye said. “So, I think it’s just one of those things that you learn from it and try not to let those defensive guys get me.”
Maye reiterated a message he delivered in the spring that he won’t be afraid to go after the Patriots’ best defensive players. Williams’ catch came contested with All-Pro cornerback Christian Gonzalez in coverage.
The QB gave his rookie wide receiver some pointers after the impressive downfield play, however.
“I told him to maybe sell a little more, just try to give him a go-route feel,” Maye said. “But I think he’s coming along. He’s looking good. I told Gonzo, ‘I’m going to come at Gonzo.’ I’m not going to leave him out here bored at practice.”
Maye knows that in order to become a leader for the 2025 Patriots, he’s going to have to “earn (his) stripes” in practice.
He also knows that winning games — something the 2024 Patriots didn’t do much of — will earn the trust of his teammates. Maye was officially 3-9 as a starter in 2024, but he only finished two of those games.
Maye had a telling quote when asked what excites him most about the Patriots this season, saying that he feels like his teammates are “tired of losing.”
For now, until Maye can prove he can regularly lead his team to victory, his teammates appreciate that the 22-year-old quarterback is an uplifting presence in practice.
“Man, he’s doing outstanding. I would say he’s definitely becoming that leader, and I feel like this is his team,” Douglas said. “He brings energy to the facility and on the field. He says nothing but good things. If something goes bad, he does nothing but lift us up.”
Beyond improving his leadership, Maye revealed that he’s working on extending plays as a passer this season. Last year, he took off running on 45 scrambles. He’d like to turn some of those runs into big passing plays.
Bringing aboard Vrabel as head coach and surrounding Maye with more talent was paramount for the success of this year’s Patriots team, but overall, they’ll only go as far as Maye can take them.
Wednesday’s practice was unpadded and light on overall competition, but it was a positive first step for Maye in a new offense with a new head coach and new top wide receiver.
Originally Published:
